The Dumping Grounds
by 2supersmart
Summary: Oneshot Collection. Team 7. 2: "Good Days, Bad Days" Miso soup and hairspray. No one messed with Sakura's morning routine.
1. 8 Bit

**A/N: **I'm baack! Sort of. (I can't believe I haven't posted for years! It seemed like such a short time!) I had stories I realized I never quite finished and I've been on a bit of a fanfiction hype now that I'm off from Uni and bored. Yes I've partially grown out of it, but writing's always been fun and I find myself coming back to it once in a while. I'm slowly but surely kicking my ass in gear and finishing some of the stories I've started (though no guarantees) so look forward to some new uploads! Or not, it's all up to you guys anyway.

This will be my misc. story dumping grounds, so expect a big jumble-up of oneshots/whatever!

This was initially meant to be a 400-word drabble for my 'Drabble Babble' collection but I went over by 100 and just gave up the pruning and expanded. So please excuse the shallow plot line and enjoyyyy (as much as you can). Drop a line via review, too, even if to say hi!

Warnings: AU and OOC.

Do not own.

Pairings: Slight sasusaku.

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><p>Sasuke didn't understand what was so special about these video games Sakura and Naruto were always obsessing about. He didn't get why they'd end up playing for hours. Didn't their eyes dry out?<p>

It was another group bonding night when the younger males headed over to Sakura's house whilst the older and legal Kakashi and Yamato hit the bars. A better alternative, thought Sasuke, than what they did at Sakura's – which was basically playing on that stupid console all night.

"I don't get why you're always playing on that thing," Sasuke voiced when he found himself once again absentmindedly watching the screen as a Naruto, Sakura and even that new kid – Sai, was it? – took turns with the two controllers, pushing on buttons rapidly.

"It's called fun, bastard. You should try it sometime," Naruto snickered before groaning.

"Lose again, dickless?" Sai taunted with a smile on his face.

"Why you-!"

"Chill out, Naruto. Sai's just taking his loss to _me_ out on _you_," Sakura grinned.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You were both beaten by a girl? Pathetic."

Sakura twitched slightly, "Are you implying that girls can't best guys at gaming?"

"Yeah bastard, 'cause Sakura can own your ass at-"

"That's not what I'm saying," Sasuke interrupted. Sakura smiled. "I'm saying girls can't be better than guys at _anything_." Sakura's smile dropped. Why that misogynistic prick-

"That's it! Sasuke Uchiha, I challenge you!" Sakura glared and pointed her finger at the male in what she believed to be a threatening manner. Staring back with eyebrow quirked, Sasuke caught the controller Naruto chucked at him (with a "Good luck, you'll need it" that Sasuke inwardly scoffed at) without breaking eye contact.

Minutes passed with bated breath and all who occupied the Haruno house were on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Would the Uchiha prove his prowess at all things competitive, or would the reigning champ prove victorious once again? No one could distinguish a clear winner, but Naruto had taken it upon himself to act as announcer.

"Coming into the third round with one win each, who will win the bragging right and who will be eating their words tonight?

"It's the start of the game and the bastard throws a left! A right! And OHHHH double damage combo! But it misses as Sakura-chan slips away and retaliates with a right hook! BAMBAMBAM and there goes a quarter of the bastard's health!"

Sasuke growled as the green bar receded. "Naruto, you idiot, stop distracting me with your crappy announcing!"

"You're just mad because you're getting beat by a girl," his competitor scoffed, her eyes never leaving the screen. Sasuke eyed her in his peripheral vision and observed her cute idiosyncrasy in which her tongue peeked out of the corner of her mouth. Sakura's triumphant 'ha!' snapped Sasuke's eyes back to the screen where he noticed her character had successfully landed a blow, lowering his health even more. He reciprocated instinctively by slamming his thumb down on his controller. The Uchiha watched in hidden horror as the key jammed and his character was stuck in a crouching position getting the snot beat out of him.

"Anndd the winner is...Sakura-chan!" Naruto announced happily, giving the pinkette a high-five, then turning to the loser: "Told you she'd own you."

"My down button jammed. Rematch."

Sakura eyed him skeptically, rolled her eyes and sighed, tossing him her controller. Sasuke understood and tossed his at her.

In the background, Naruto complained of Sakura's lack of sharing and that 'she already had three turns' and 'whatever happened to sharing?' but the two holding the controllers paid him no mind over the upbeat 8-bit song playing as they chose their characters.

Besides, they were having too much fun. Sakura looked over to her competitor with determined eyes and a mischievous smile on her lips before provoking her video game rival who looked to be enjoying the competition as much as she:

"Bring it."


	2. Good Days, Bad Days

**AN:**So, it's been a while. I've been in a creative mood recently, so I thought I'd give good ol' fanfiction a try again. Especially now that I've caught up with the Naruto manga :)

I have stumbled upon a few incomplete fics I wrote that need some tweaking (grammar-wise and also because I wrote them when Orochimaru was still the major villain in the series. Ah, good times), so hopefully they'll be finished and posted soon - if anyone still remembers anything about lil' old me (it really has been quite a while after all). I'd like to think I've improved since a few years back.

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><p><strong>Good Days, Bad Days<strong>

Sakura likes to begin her mornings with a routine. It's risky, she knows, but she believes that a good day starts with a good morning. Her parents used to constantly berate her on the subject when she was still living with them during her academy days. She was used to the frustrated lectures as she ritualistically sipped at her daily miso soup. The lectures didn't stop after she moved out either. Fellow shinobi subjected to her obsessive compulsive tendencies during long missions always had a comment.

"What kind of ninja brings instant miso soup packets in their emergency packs?" Kiba asked her once.

"Geez Sakura. I thought you were over the whole hair care thing," Ino had mentioned as she noticed her friend pull a can of hairspray out of her overnight bag.

Predictability was a weakness after all. Kakashi smiles at her strange idiosyncrasy, but from time to time even he would give his two cents:

"Be careful of those miso packets. Never know if they're poisoned," he joked sometimes. She always dismisses it with a laugh and an assurance to her old sensei that she added checking the packages to her routine.

It is on another mission with the dog-friendly member of the Rookie 9 that Sakura realizes it wasn't the miso packets she had to worry about.

"What the – aaahhh!" Sakura screamed as her signature pink locks were semi-coated with black. Kiba guffawed at his genius prank, which was his second mistake. His first, he realized, was messing with Haruno Sakura. A chakra-infused fist swiped at him while he was distracted with laughter. The moment Kiba finally clued into the impending pain that was going to befall his face was when Sakura averted her blow. Her fist misses his red-painted cheeks by a centimeter and lands behind the boy, leaving wreckage in its wake and her previous target sprawled on the newly broken ground.

Sakura remembers angrily peeling off the fake hairspray label on the spray paint can, and going through a whole bottle of shampoo that day. Kiba remembers a lithe female figure with black-and-pink hair looming over his dishevelled form; shouting as she reminded him that "Next time, I won't miss on purpose, Kiba!"

Now, Sakura always makes sure to check the hairspray too, but it isn't necessary. Kiba's experience proved to be quite the effective cautionary tale.

During the days that Obito and Madara attack, Sakura reaffirms her belief. She had not had a good morning by any means. Everyone was to be on constant alert. Days and nights no longer mattered, but the last memory Sakura had of waking up was after a 40 minute cat nap between healing sessions, with her hair in jumbles and no miso soup in sight. Suffice it to say, a bad morning meant a bad day. Probably the worst day in ninja history, in her opinion.

Sakura steadily pushed chakra into Naruto's shoulders as the cursed day continued to unfold. She really didn't know how it could get any worse…

But as the Juubi began splitting itself into mini monsters, she was forced to re-evaluate her notions. Sure, their problems just literally multiplied a thousand-fold and her hair was probably a rat's nest by now, but as she took dove towards the budding monsters sporting a new forehead mark, a smile broke out across her face. The Earth shatters.

She turns to see the comical look of fear on Naruto's face and Sasuke's impressed grin as they stare at her back.

She laughs.

"_Today was a good day._"

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><p>Don't forget to R&amp;R!<p> 


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